The team
Sian took the shop over from her father and can prescribe for the common ailments herself. Owen built the travel clinic. Pat has run the counter since 1998 and knows most of the town by name. Dai drives three hundred deliveries a week and texts before he knocks.
Pharmacist and owner. Prescriptions, medicines reviews, the flu clinic
Qualified in Cardiff in 2003, worked for her father here for nine years and took the pharmacy over in 2012 when he retired. An independent prescriber, which means she can prescribe for the common ailments and the blood pressure service herself. Does the medicines reviews, most of the flu clinic, and still knows which drawer the obscure things live in.
Pharmacist. Travel clinic, vaccinations, ear wax, the Saturday shift
Joined in 2017 from a hospital pharmacy and built the travel clinic from a leaflet to a registered yellow fever centre. Trained in microsuction, runs the vaccination clinics and the Saturday shift, and is the one who will tell you that the expensive thing on the shelf is the same as the cheap one.
Counter manager. Orders, the phone, the deliveries, forty years of names
Started on the counter in 1989 and has run it since 1998. Takes the orders, chases the surgeries, organises the three hundred deliveries a week with Dai the driver, and knows most of Caerphilly by name and by what they take. Accredited to run the blood pressure checks and the healthy-living advice. Will not be retiring, whatever she says.
Registration and training
Both pharmacists are GPhC registered, with the numbers on the wall, and the pharmacy is registered too. Sian is the superintendent pharmacist.
Sian holds the independent prescribing qualification, which is what lets the common ailments service and the blood pressure service go further here than at most pharmacies.
Both pharmacists are trained vaccinators and Owen holds the travel medicine certificate; the pharmacy is a registered yellow fever centre, inspected every two years.
Every prescription is checked by a second person before it is bagged, by an accredited checking technician or a pharmacist. The error log is on the wall of the dispensary, and it is short.
Dai Rees
Dai joined in 2015 after twenty years driving for the council and has done the deliveries ever since: Penyrheol and Trecenydd on Mondays, the valleys on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the town on Wednesdays, Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen on Fridays. He texts before he knocks, waits while you check the bag, never leaves medicines on a doorstep, and carries the signature sheet for controlled drugs. He also notices when someone has not answered the door two weeks running, and says so.
Order a prescription for deliveryRepeat prescriptions ordered on the prescriptions page are ready in two working days, collected or delivered free. Flu jabs, travel vaccines, blood pressure checks and medicines reviews are booked with the form or by ringing the shop.